Randall Kennedy

Yeah.

But then they also took on some other propositions with which I was in very strong disagreement.

So I think it's perfectly fine to say that racism is a force in American life that is deeper, more pervasive, more stubborn, more resilient than I think people often understand, often perceive.

But then some of the folks in critical race theory push further.

One of the propositions that some of the people in critical race theory took was the proposition that America was doomed to always be a country that would be governed

according to the dictates of white supremacy.

Derrick Bell, who was a colleague of mine and a friend of mine, took that position.

He talked about the permanence of racism in American life, and he took the position that the various changes that had been wrought in American life were really mainly cosmetic,

They didn't amount to a whole lot.

I mean, Derrick Bell took the position, you know, the second reconstruction, the civil rights movement.

Well, yeah, it made changes, but at the end of the day, black people were still, you know, after the second reconstruction, were still in a position of almost, you know, I don't know, some of them would even say neo-slavery.

Well, I think that's ridiculous.

The second reconstruction changed a lot.

And as for neo-slavery, neo-slavery, what are you talking about?

A black American was president of the United States between the years 2008 and 2016.

I mean, what are we talking about here?

There has been a tremendous change, and I think people ought to understand that.

Now,

Am I saying that everything is peachy keen and all right?

No.